Dallas… It’s just like Paris (The best and worst macarons)

Bonjour, y’all! Dallas is basically just like Paris. Paris is the City of Light. Dallas has some MAJOR lights. We recently won Best International Skyline because of our “colorful interactive lighting that cannot be ignored.”  Also, although not *technically* Dallas, have you ever driven past the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium or the Texas Rangers’ ballpark? So many lights.

Paris is the City of Love. As a former wedding coordinator, I can attest to the fact that Dallas loves love. In 2013, 45,636 weddings were performed in the DFW area.

And as for being the City of Macarons… well, that’s what I’m hoping to find out. This post is my response to LeeAnn’s blog, Paris, the city of love, light, and macarons.  I couldn’t let her have all the fun, so I set out to find the best macarons in Dallas. What I found was pretty similar to LeeAnn– Dallas has the good, the great, and the not so great when it comes to macarons.

First up, Bisous Bisous.

In french, it means “kiss, kiss.” Unfortunately… I didn’t feel quite so much love for these macarons. I bought these at a farmer’s market and couldn’t decide between the original pack, with flavors like pistachio and raspberry, and the modern pack, with flavors like chocolate hazelnut and peanut butter and jelly. So naturally, I said “I’ll take them all!” and spent $25 on one dozen macarons. Which, as you can see above, are beautiful!

However, the flavors left something to be desired. Of all the macarons, my favorite was toasted coconut, which tasted like a macaroon (not to be confused with macaron!) minus the stringy coconut. The other flavors were a bit bland. I’m a filling girl, and these macarons seemed to have filling only to ‘glue’ the pieces together.

Since I couldn’t (shouldn’t) eat a dozen macarons, I shared with friends. Their verdict: My friend who had never tried one before said that this was probably her first and last macaron. The next friend took one bite, handed it back and said “I don’t like it.”

One thing to factor in: Perhaps these would have been better if I had purchased them in-store, but given the pre-packaged first impression, I probably won’t give them a second chance.

Next up: Joy Macarons.

And that joy is just the emotion it evoked as I chose between the delightful flavors Joy had to offer! Choosing between several colorful options, we purchased violet and black currant, almond, honey and lavender, pistachio, raspberry, and lemon fleur de sel. Some notable options that didn’t make the cut (this time): butter pecan, chocolate chip, rose and lychee and salted caramel.

Every. Single. One. was amazing! I am a huge fan of almond-anything, so it was a treat to have the almond macaron— an almond flour cookie, flavored with almond, and filled with a marzipan-type filling. A few other highlights: honey lavender— sweet with real dried lavender on top. Tastes like eating a flower in the very best way. We managed to eat most of them the night of our macaron tour of Dallas… but I left one for the next day, and was surprised to find that (if possible), they’re even better on day 2!  The raspberry filling had radiated throughout the cookie, which was still crisp on the outside, but it melted in your mouth as soon as you bit into it. Don’t miss Joy Macarons!

Rush Patisserie was our next stop of the evening. They were sold out, but pointed us to Bolsa Mercado, where they deliver at least once a day.

Rush’s Ambassador of French Pastry is a Le Cordon Bleu Paris graduate, but her macarons are anything but traditional. These macarons are about two times bigger than your traditional macaron, and cost $5 each! The macarons are almost a cross between a macaron and a whoopie pie. The fillings were creamy- almost like banana pudding and a strawberry whipped yogurt. The cookies were not bad, but the large size and intense flavor was a little too much for me.

Last stop of the evening: Kate Weiser Chocolate.

Kate Weiser, usually known for her incredible painted chocolates, has some incredible macarons. They are generous in filling with great flavor. Kate’s lavender berry macaron has a surprise inside– it looks like lavender filling only from the outside but when you bite in, there’s jam! The passion fruit is tart and sweet and the perfect end to a macaron tour. And while you’re there… grab some of her artistic chocolates.

Ladies and gentlemen… we have a tie! Joy Macarons and Kate Weiser Chocolate’s macarons were both incredible! Joy’s cookie flavors were my favorite, while Kate’s fillings were the best! Since they’re less than 3 miles apart… just go to both!